Parties and Bloodshed
by Shashoom
Summary: The Straw Hats are being targeted by a vicious group of pirates that are relentless in their mission to obliterate the Straw Hats. Why are they doing this? Can they be stopped? Their only hope lies with another pirate crew captained by the flamboyant and jubilant captain Alexander Watting. But will his help be enough?
1. Prologue

**A/N: The main story will take place after the timeskip, in the New World. This story will involve a few OC's.  
****Disclaimer: One Piece belongs to Eiichiro Oda  
**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Sanji grunted as he awoke. He was slightly disoriented; he didn't realize that he was, at the moment, inside a prison cell.

He got to his feet, much to the dismay of his right leg which was in considerable pain. He held onto his side. 'Damn, guess I broke a few ribs. No matter, Chopper'll fix it up in no time' Sanji thought to himself as he began to realize where he was.

He limped towards the door when he remembered.

"Nami-san! Where are you?" he screamed out, worry apparent in his trembling voice. At that point he heard some sound coming from the cell door to Sanji's right. There were only a few lanterns hanging in the bleak hallway and no windows so it was difficult for him to make out what was in the other cell; until he saw a flash of orange hair.

"Nami-san! Are you alright?!"

Nami shuffled her way to the cell door. Physically she was in much better condition that Sanji, suffering only a few minor bruises; the shock was what was keeping her down. She groaned as she got back to her feet. "I'm fine, Sanji-kun." She clutched the bar doors as she stared at her comrade. Her eyes then darted around the entire hallway, trying to size up their situation.

"Those bastards. Wait till I get my hands on them. How dare they try to attack a lady when she isn't looking!" Sanji growled.

"For now, Sanji-kun, let's focus on getting out of here." She was now facing Sanji's cell and she saw that Sanji was clutching his sides and she remembered how he dove in front of her to save her from the impact of that cannon.

"Sanji-kun, thank you for saving me back there." Nami genuinely told him.

"Of course, Nami-san, I would never let anyone hurt you." Nami nodded her head in appreciation.

"Guess there isn't much we can do from in here. Guess we'll have to wait for everybody else to come rescue us." Nami stated matter of factly.

Sanji huffed in exasperation. "Those shitty bastards better not take their time." Nami smiled at Sanji's remark.

Nami began to think back on how the two of them ended up in this situation.

* * *

_A few days earlier, after the events of Thriller Bark…_

The crew had recently escaped from the Demonic Sea known as the Florian Triangle. The crew was adjusting to life with a rambunctious and perverted skeleton (most of the crew at least).

Nami was on the deck, reading a recently acquired newspaper. They were hard to obtain on the Grand Line so this particular newspaper was not, in fact, recent. It was several weeks old and they had gotten it from Thriller Bark, but Nami was pleased to have something that connected them with the rest of the world.

According to Lola they had several days of sailing to go before they reached Fishman Island…

"Oi, I see an island in the distance." Shouted Usopp who had been fishing with Luffy (the second having fallen asleep after a short while of nothing happening).

This got everyone's attention who stopped doing what they were doing to see this island.

"That's strange, Lola said there wasn't gonna be any island between the Florian Triangle and Fishman Island." Nami pointed out to the rest of the crew.

"Island?" Lufy had suddenly awoken from his slumber at the mention of an island and thus, in turn, the opportunity for adventure. "Oi, let's go to that island!" Luffy ordered everyone.

"Are you sure? I don't know what island this is so who knows what we might run into." Nami informed her captain who had simply shrugged off her warning.

Zoro, who had been sleeping soundly, walked up to his captain's side. "Even if we do run into something it's not like we can't handle it." He flashed Nami a cheeky grin. Chopper then grabbed Zoro and started scolding him. "You're not gonna do anything! You're already badly hurt and I'm not gonna let you make it even worse!" He was now shaking Zoro uncontrollably in rage and worry.

"Oi, oi, that's not exactly helping." Usopp, Franky and Brook silently whispered this to Chopper as they sweat dropped at their doctor's unorthodox methods to restrain his patient.

"I think we should go. With this black hole on the ship…" Sanji pointed to Luffy "I'd rather that we always take the opportunity to stock up on supplies."

"I agree with Cook-san. Plus we might get some useful information about the waters we're about to tread." Robin voiced her opinion.

Nami let out a sigh of defeat. "Fine, guess we're heading to that island." She smiled as she finished her statement. As long as they were together, nothing would deter them.

"Alright, let's go!" Luffy screamed as they made their way to their new destination: the unknown island.

* * *

_A few hours later…_

The 'unknown island' turned out to be a secret marine base that was designed to look like a normal island that could attract pirates to them where they would ambush them.

The crew had docked and immediately the more intuitive members of the crew had picked up on the malicious aura of this place, however they continued to explore the island.

After a short while the marines attacked the crew, however Zoro, Sanji and Robin had caught onto their movements from the get go and were able to counter their ambush. The crew quickly composed themselves and an all out battle had begun. A small army of 250 marine soldiers hailed down on the crew.

The crew was able to hold their own, however, some members of the crew had to be by Zoro's side just in case. Things were going their way until the mortars came out. On the precipice of a cliff situated a few meters away from the battle the marines had placed several mortars and were firing whenever they got the opportunity to do so – they made sure not to hurt their own men.

Nami had, unknowingly, distanced herself from the crew giving the marines an opening to fire at her; and they took it. They fired a few shots at her, fortunately for her Sanji had spotted them and had rushed to her side, tackling her to the ground as to avoid the mortar fire. The impact of the blast, however, had knocked the two of them out.

As per their commander's orders, a few marines grabbed the two unconscious Straw Hat's and took them to their base which was situated in the middle of the island, away from the sea.

The rest of the crew, being too busy fighting the marines, were too late in realizing that their comrades had been carried away.

* * *

_The present…_

Sanji was on the ground, his back to the wall as he examined his leg. Nami noticed this.

"Sanji-kun, are you alright?" Nami inquired.

Sanji smiled at her, reassuring his fair maiden.

"Of course, I just need to sleep if off." Nami smiled at this, knowing her friend was going to be alright.

"But I'm so happy knowing that my Nami-Swan is alright!" Sanji yelled out with hearts in his eyes. 'Yep, her friend was alright.'

"How long do you think we've been in here?" Nami asked, a hint of fear present in her voice.

Sanji was about to answer when all of a sudden there was a sound of an explosion that shook the ceiling. Both of them looked up. "What the hell was that?!" Sanji yelled out.

"Sounded like an explosion." Nami suggested. Both of them heard scrapping noises coming from the floor above them; there was obvious chaos and the marines – most likely – were running around and trying to fix the problem. Sanji sneered at these set of events.

"Guess they finally showed up. Who else would cause so much trouble?" Sanji said with pride and relief pouring out from his words. Nami chuckled.

They both waited patiently: the sounds of cannon and gun fire didn't seem to faze them one bit as it was merely proof that the marines were unable to stop their adversaries; it was only a matter of time before their friends were to find them.

And sure enough, one of them had.

"Cook-san, Navigator-san, I'm glad to see that both of you are alright." Robin entered the hallway with a set of keys.

"Robin!" Nami called out to her with the utmost glee.

"Robin-swannnnnnnnn! I'm so glad to see you're okay! And you came to rescue me! I will never be able to repay this kindness." Robin giggled at the cook's exuberant words as she unlocked the both of them. "No payment is necessary, Cook-san." She stated kindly as he beckoned both of them to follow her.

"Ni, Robin, what happened after we were captured?" Nami asked. The three of them rounded reached a set of stairs and slowly made their ascent – Sanji having a bum leg and all.

"After you were captured we were able to hold the marines off and get to the Sunny where we sailed off to sea to create our battle plan. Captain-san wanted to go after you there and then but not knowing exactly where you were and in what condition, we decided to study the island and find out where to strike." They reached the top of the stairs and paced forward towards a large wooden door.

"I snuck back onto the island and using my 'skills' I was able to find that the marine base had been disguised as a library and was in the middle of the island. I overheard some of the marines talking about you; neither of you were in any critical condition. So with this information, I headed back to the ship."

They passed the wooden door and found themselves in the mess hall; it was currently unoccupied.

"But how did you all manage to get back onto the island without the marines noticing?" Sanji inquired.

"We docked the ship far away from the island and used the Mini Merry and Shark Submerge to make our way onto the island without being detected. It was difficult to navigate our way to the island without you, Navigator –san." Nami blushed at that comment. They exited the mess hall and were making their way through a long and narrow hallway.

"We found a cave east to the base where we quickly made camp. Franky and Sniper-san made their way North and planted several explosives to distract the marines while the rest of us would make our way here."

"So that was what we heard awhile back." Sanji stated. "Guess you were right, Nami-san." Nami nodded.

"At the moment Brook and Swordsman-san have headed back to the ship and are making their way onto the island. Franky and Usopp regrouped with us and with Captain-san and Doctor-san are holding off the marines, so it's best if we don't keep them waiting." Robin finished as the group now exited another door and were now stationed outside the marine base.

In front of them their friends were holding off a large group of marines. Luffy was bouncing off the bullets that came his way while Usopp hid behind some bushes and provided them with cover fire. Chopper was using Jumping point to dodge the barrage of oncoming attacks. Franky was using Weapons Left to keep the enemies at bay.

"Oi, Nami, Sanji, Robin, you guys are alright?!" Luffy screamed at them, a giant grin plastered on his face.

"No thanks to you, you shitty captain." Sanji yelled angrily at his captain who simply laughed.

"Now that we're all here, let's get out of this crazy island!" Luffy ordered as he unleashed Gatling Gun to open a pathway for his comrades. "Come on!"

* * *

_Meanwhile…_

Commander Izho, a small, pudgy man with long, flowing brown hair stood far away from the ensuing chaos. He was making his rounds when the Straw Hats attacked the base so he was far away from it. His face was red with anger. He spoke in a raspy voice "How could this happen?! How dare those pirates defile this base?! Defile me?!"

"Sir, your orders." The marine next to him asked.

Izho glared at the base. "We're not gonna let them escape! Get the mortars and fire at the base!"

"Wh-what?" the marines soldier stuttered.

"You heard me! Fire at the base and take it all down. A base can be rebuilt, our reputation can't!" Izho barked at his subordinate. "A-aye, sir!" the soldier saluted at his commanding officer and ran out of the room.

"I won't let you escape, Straw Hat!"

* * *

_With the crew…_

"Let's go!"

All of them marched forward. Franky had taken Sanji by the arms and was helping him walk. "Sanji, I can't examine you here. Can you hold out till we get to the ship?" Chopper asked. His voice clearly showed that he was saddened by his inability to help his comrade. "I'm fine, Chopper, this is nothing. I've had worse trying to keep the shitty captain away from the food" Sanji joked, hoping that it would lighten the mood, which, thankfully, it did. Chopped snickered at that comment.

"Look out!" Nami screamed as they all looked up and saw that several cannon balls were heading in their direction, or more accurately, in the direction of the base.

Luffy stretched his left arm and grabbed onto his crew mates and then stretched his other arm to grab a tree that was several meters away.

"Gomu gomu no Rocket!" Luffy screamed as he launched himself and his crew far away from the rain of cannon fire; and in the nick of time, too as only a few brief seconds after they launched themselves away from the base did the place was engulfed in a large explosion. Franky whistled in astonishment. "Guess they really didn't want us to leave."

"Shishishi, but we did." Luffy giggled when Nami suddenly hit him on the head. "Don't grab me like that without a heads up, idiot!"

They all landed (more like crashed) far away from the base.

"Come on, we told Brook and Zoro to meet us at the cave east of the base." Chopper hurriedly told them when all of a sudden…

"Everyone!" Brook shouted at all of them, waving his arms frantically as the Sunny approached them. "Huh, what are they doing here?" Usopp, obviously confused as to why they would show up here and not the pre-planned location.

"Zoro-san, leave the helm, we've found them." Brook called out to Zoro who made his way to where Brook was. "Huh, this doesn't look like the cave we were at."

Most of the crew sweat-dropped. 'Zoro was steering, no wonder they didn't end up at the cave.' However, the crew didn't question it and scurried their way to the ship.

"Alright, let's get out of here quickly before the marines send some of their ships after us." Nami said worriedly.

"I don't think that will be a problem, Navigator-san. Seems they have their hands full." Robin pointed towards the island and they all saw that the fire at the base had now spread and a good chunk of the forest surrounding the area was now up in flames.

They all thanked the heavens for their luck as they sailed away from this damn island. Unbeknownst to them, another ship was approaching the island; a ship on which stood a very powerful man who they had, unknowingly, wronged in the worse possible way.

"Hold on, Rem, I'm on my way." The man whispered these words. _Who was this man?_


	2. Chapter 1

Being separated for two years had been the Straw Hats' greatest challenge. As much as they bickered, fought and got on each other's nerves, they all deeply cared for one another and would go to Hell and challenge the Devil himself to a fight if it meant they could help their comrades. However, their reunion after those hellish two years had been short lived as they were immediately chased by the marines, were caught up in a military coup in Fishman Island, fought to save countless children on Punk Hazard and battled a Warlord in Dressrosa.

At the current moment the Straw Hats were making their way to their next destination.

"Requin?" Usopp repeated. Usopp was dressed in his signature brown overalls but was also wearing a pair of dark gloves as he was experimenting with some new chemicals.

"That's the name of the island we're heading to next." Nami stated. She was wearing a pair of black jeans and a blue T-shirt; her hair was tied up in a large pony tail.

"Do we know anything about it?" Brook inquired. Brook was sporting his Soul King attire. He looked from one Straw Hat to the other, hoping for an answer. His eyes (though he has none) eventually landed on Robin – when all else fails, turn to Robin. Robin had been sporting a blue jacket, underneath which there was a black dress shirt, and a pair of dark colored pants.

"Well, I've only heard a little about the island…" Robin begun as the entire crew turned to her expectantly. "… I believe the island was named so due to the fact that it's surrounded by a shiver of sharks." She said in a sing song voice.

"Sh-sh-SHARKS?!" Usopp bellowed.

"How are we suppose to cross shark infested waters?!" Nami bawled immediately after.

"I don't know, Navigator-san, that's for you to decide." Robin gave Nami a mocking grin.

"Sharks don't sound very SUPER!" Franky yelled as he struck his signature pose. "But I wonder, maybe they'll see my Shark Submerge as a fellow shark and accept him into the group. That sounds SUPER!" Once more, the pose was struck.

"Shishishi, sounds fun." The shirtless captain made his remark which earned him an angry glare from the distraught navigator.

"Oi, I think I see it!" Zoro informed them from the crow's nest. They all ran to the side of the ship to catch a glimpse: it was a relatively small island filled with lush greenery and plant life; a few docks were visible, though not many ships were currently inhabiting it.

"Doesn't look like many people dock here." Chopper points out, but as soon as they were about to respond the Sunny started shaking violently. "Woah! What's going on?!" Franky yelled out, trying to keep himself upright.

"Sharks!" Brook responded quite loudly.

At that moment the Sunny was surrounded by a school of sharks: they were all much larger than the average shark and they all seemed to carry a smug grin. One of the sharks jumped high up into the air and crashed onto Sunny's side; Franky saw this as a declaration of war. "Oh, so you wanna go, eh? I'll show you what Sunny can do!"

"Franky, stop, we can't deal with these guys now. Let's just get through 'em quickly and get to the island." Sanji advises and Franky simply grumbles away.

"Ara, seems these sharks have a leader." Robin states, a little too calmly despite their predicament. They all stared at this 'leader' and saw that Robin was, in fact, correct. The shark they were staring at was behind most of the others but had a large vertical scar just between its eyes, reaching from the tip of its nose to just a few meters shy of its dorsal fin. He seemed to be using his pectoral fins to tell his compatriots where to strike and when not to strike. He sneered at the Straw Hats, almost as if it were laughing at them.

"Why that bastard, so that's who I have to beat up?" Luffy's naiveté shining through and through. Nami sighed in vexation. "No, Luffy, what we do is we – Ahhh" Nami falls back as another group of sharks ram the Sunny. "How dare they interrupt a lady!" Sanji jumps off the Sunny and kicks one of the sharks on its head and uses Sky walk to get back on deck. "Shitty sharks, you don't even deserve to end up in one of my dishes." Sanji pulls out a cigarette and lights it.

The shark that had been sneering at them previously is now glaring at them, its eyes a fiery red; he charges at them. The Straw Hats take up defensive positions.

SLASH!

The shark is cut in half: a vertical cut from its side. The Straw Hats look at the gruesome scene before them with wide eyes. They all then turn towards Zoro, the only one of them who could perform such a feat. Zoro, however, looks as surprised as them – his swords were sheathed.

"If it wasn't Zoro-san then…?" Brook asked, his voice trailing off when they all heard a loud yell.

"WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-EEEEEEEEE!"

"We finally got it, captain!" Another voice yelled out.

"Damn right we did! We got our main meal for the party tonight, fellas!" A third voice rang out; it was a strong, vibrant voice but it also held an air of mischief and merriment.

The Straw Hats turned to the source of the noise and saw a large ship – about twice the size of their own – with a large mast and a black sail. Its figurehead was a wolf; the rest of the ship was adorned with a plethora of bright colors: red, blue, yellow and so forth, and on the very top of the mast there fluttered a flag; a pirate flag. The Jolly Roger of this unknown ship had a skull with a large smile, its mouth hanging open, and rather than bones or swords there was a party streamer and an axe that formed the crossbones. All in all, this looked like quite a flamboyant and queer ship.

A few people atop the ship ran to the sides and fired hooks at the dead shark carcasses, reeling them in.

"Oi, you guys alright?" A figure marched up to the front and questioned the Straw Hats. It was a tall man (About 6'5 feet), he had broad shoulders which made him look quite intimidating; dark brown hair that were unkempt and many strands of hair were pointing out in different directions; he had dark brown eyes, high cheek bones, but he had a very large and pointy chin – a person could pierce themselves if they attempted to touch it. He had on a very large pink colored coat that was covered with an assortment of stickers: flowers, horses and rainbows. He also had on black trousers, seemingly the only normal looking thing about this man. On his back there hung a large battle axe, quite plain looking, though the scratches on the haft and blade showed that it had seen a lot of battle. On his sides hung two tomahawks, less daunting than the one that hung on his back but nevertheless were still quite menacing.

"Yeah! Hey, color-ossan, were you the ones who took out that shark?" Luffy answered and pointed to the corpses of the aforementioned sharks.

"Rihahahahaha! 'Color ossan', never heard that before! I like you, kid, and yeah, that was me. My name is Alexander Watting and we are… THE PARTY PIRATES!" He opens up his arms and presents his crew with the utmost pride. At his introduction the rest of his crew yell out in unison; pride in their title clearly apparent.

"Hi, we're the Straw Hats!" Luffy cheered with the same pride and conviction as the person standing before them.

"Eh, Straw Hats? Rihahahaha! I know you lot! You're the guys who stormed Enies Lobby, who punched the celestial dragon back in Sabody. You're one crazy bunch… and you live life to its fullest without regrets! I can see that, in your eyes, in the way you stand now; you regret none of it! Rihahaha! Come, join us in Requin, we're going to have a party!" Alexander yelled out.

"A party? That sounds fun!" Luffy replied.

"Oi, oi, should we really be partying with this weirdo?" Zoro voiced his concerns which earned several grunts of support from some of the other members.

"He seems fun. Let's check it out!" Luffy retorted and that was that, no point in questioning someone like Luffy once he's made up his mind.

"Excellent! Boys, round up the meat and sake, we're gonna party till dawn!" Alexander called out to his crew, earning another round of cheers.

The Straw Hats and Party Pirates now made their way to Requin together.

New alliances have been formed, but another force fast approaches.

* * *

"Captain, the Straw Hats were reportedly seen in Dressrosa which means that they only have one place to go: Requin." The slinky blonde man finished reporting.

"Good, we're close, we're oh so close." The 'Captain' responded. "Straw Hat, did you really think you could outrun me forever? You can venture into the bowels of Hell and I would still chase after you. You shall pay for what you did!"

"Captain, I've informed the crew, they're all ready to face the Straw Hats."

"They'll only be staying on Requin for two days, at most. But we can make it, we're almost there."


	3. Chapter 2

The sharks that had moments ago been savagely berating their ships had now scurried away in a hurry, obviously terrified by the ship and its crew that were currently guiding the Straw Hats to the island. Luffy sat cross legged on Sunny's figurehead while the rest of the crew remained on deck, keeping a watchful eye on their new 'friends'.

They eventually docked; they quickly jumped off the ship and landed on the harbor. They took in their surroundings: the island seemed to have a very small population that lived – to put it delicately – in bearable terms: their 'houses' were nearly broken down huts and all the inhabitants were clad in torn clothing. This distressed all of them, including the crew they had docked with. Speaking off…

There was a mix of tapping sounds coming from their right so the Straw Hats naturally turned towards it. They saw the captain, Alexander, walking towards them with two of his men by his side. The one on his left was a thin man with dark colored skin and pale yellow hair. He walked with his shoulders slumped, an air of melancholy surrounding him; he seemed to be the exact opposite of his jubilant captain. The one of the captain's right was a rather young looking man with puffy cheeks and wide eyes. His features made him look like a child in a candy store. His hair was black and neatly kept; he seemed a little too innocent.

"Hello, hello!" The captain hollered out. "Straw Hats! I'd like to introduce you to my crew mates. This here is my first mate: Dizo!" He waved towards the thin man.

"Bye." Dizo casually said which puzzled the Straw Hats.

"You're supposed to say hello, Dizo" The captain corrected without even turning to him. "Oh, I meant to say hi." Dizo corrected himself.

"And this lovable oaf here is Mizolo!" Alexander then pointed to his other man. "He's our navigator." This made Nami's ears perk up. There weren't many navigators she had had the chance to talk to.

"Hello! I am the-" Mizolo stood there with his mouth hanging open. This made the Straw Hats feel slightly awkward when all of a sudden, "- navigator!"

"What's with that pause?!" The Straw Hats(minus one archaeologist) yelled out.

Alexander grabs Mizolo and tucks him under his arm, rustling his hair. "Don't mind Mizolo, he can be a bit slow at times. Rihahahaha!"

Luffy steps forward, his arms crossed and he flashes a bright, large grin at his new friend. "I'm Luffy, the man who'll become the pirate king, and this is my crew." Luffy proudly presents.

"I know of you lot, I've read enough about you all. Though I'm not sure on that one; is he new?" Alexander points to Sanji, who is perplexed. He tilts his head to the side until realization hits him.

"THOSE DAMN MARINE BASTARDS COULDN'T GET A DECENT PICTURE OF ME!" Sanji screams with the utmost rage.

"Ah, he must not be 'Black Leg' Sanji." Dizo wrongly informed. "Wait… I mean he must be 'Black Leg' Sanji." He corrected himself.

They all turn around when they hear a very loud thud. They see that Alexander's crew had dropped some of the shark carcasses on the deck. Seeing this, some of the residents gathered round the dead catch, the hunger visible in their eyes. Alexander smiles at them sadly. He grabs the large axe from his back and holds it up high.

"Ladies and gentlemen of the beautiful little island of Requin, you have been very kind in letting us stay here and for that we are very grateful. In honor of new friends and comrades…" He turns and smiles to the Straw Hats. "I say we have a large feast tonight and you're all invited!" Alexander finished his short speech. At first the residents didn't know how to respond; they stared at one another, contemplating what to say or do.

"Get the Joji brothers, tell 'em to make whatever they can! We're feeding an entire village after all!" Alexander was beaming as he commanded his navigator who saluted and skipped away.

"These 'Joji brothers', they your cooks?" Sanji inquired.

"Why yes, they are. They're the best you'll find anywhere near here." Alexander proudly exclaimed.

"Yeah." Sanji loosened his tie. "That was before I showed up. Oi, Luffy, since we'll be staying here, partying with these guys, I'll at least make sure we'll be eating some quality food." Sanji informed his captain who simply laughed in return. Sanji then ran after Mizolo.

"Come on, let's have us some fun." Alexander yelled out.

* * *

An hour later…

The feast was in full swing: Sanji and the Joji Brothers – a pair of red haired twins – had created an assortment of dishes with shark as the main ingredient, and it was, judging by the ravenous way the villagers were eating, very good; Dizo and Zoro were partaking in a friendly drinking competition, a mile away from the rest of the festivities; Nami had gotten into friendly chatter with Mizolo; Franky, Brook, Chopper and Usopp were dancing and singing with the rest of Alexander's crew while Robin sat on the side, a drink in hand and a content smile plastered on her face.

The captains of both crews were in the middle of the festivities: Luffy was quickly devouring anything that came into his reach while Alexander, unlike his counterpart, was slowly eating his portion with a fork and knife.

* * *

"Wooh, you sure can handle your liquor." Zoro complimented his new drinking buddy.

"Hey, punk, you got a problem?" Dizo said back. "What?" Zoro asked, obviously confused.

"Oh, wait, I'm sorry, I meant to say thanks." Dizo corrected himself. Zoro chuckles at his quirk.

"You guys are odd, but I like you. Hmm, that captain of yours is an odd one too." Zoro fell back as Dizo pulled out a small dagger and tried attacking Zoro. "What the –"

"Don't you dare compliment the captain. I mean, don't you dare insult him!" Dizo lunged forward once more, his movement was groggy and very uncoordinated which made predicting his movement without haki very difficult.

Zoro held up his arms in defense, knowing that he had unintentionally insulted the captain and thus, in turn, him. "Wait, I wasn't insulting him! I'm sorry if it sounded like it." Zoro offered his apology which Dizo was quick to accept.

"I'm sorry." Dizo said as he sat back down. "I'm a bit overprotective of the captain, even a statement as meaningless as that can set me off. I mean, you're a first mate, you can understand."

Zoro sat across from him. "I'm not the first mate."

"Maybe not officially but the way I look at your crew, it's obvious that everyone despises you."

"What?!" Zoro sweat dropped.

"I'm sorry, I meant they obviously respect you. May not be official but if anyone were to be the first mate, I'm guessing the crew would pick you."

Zoro huffs as he grabs another bottle of sake and chugs it down.

* * *

Elsewhere…

Nami and Mizolo were sharing stories of their exploits were their respective crews. Mizolo was, in a way, very much like Chopper and Luffy: very naïve and innocent, but he was also exceptionally intelligent.

"Hey, I have a question and I hope you don't take any offence to it." Nami stated, slightly anxious as to his response.

"Sure, go…" After a few seconds. "Ahead."

Nami snickered at his behavior. "Well, it's about that pausing of yours…"

"Oh, what about it?"

"Well, it's just that, you're the navigator. Meaning you have to give a lot of orders and tell the crew what to do in the middle of storms and cyclones, doesn't it ever get in the way? Aren't you afraid that you just might pause for a little too long?" Nami finished. This was a question that was to quench her own curiosity but it was also there to give her some sort of peace of mind. She wondered day in and day out of whether she'll make a mistake one day that would result in the ship capsizing and the crew falling overboard. This thought haunted her and she always assured herself that it could never happen. She wanted to know if others, such as Mizolo, had similar thoughts and, if they did, how they coped with it.

"Hmmm, I do, actually." Mizolo answered after a few long seconds.

"Really…" Nami asked in a small voice.

"Uh-huh, but it doesn't bother me. I think of it like a possibility. Like how I also think that the captain's thirst for fun and adventure might cause us to end up in the middle of a war zone or that Dizo's somber demeanor might just be nothing more than a distraction…" Mizolo took another long; Nami patiently awaited for the rest of the answer. "What was I talking about?" Mizolo finished, earning him a smack on the top of the head from an impatient red head.

"Ah, sorry, as I was saying. Bad things can always happen, there's always a chance, but don't ever add to it by doubting yourself. What's that gonna get ya? Just believe in your abilities and always say 'We'll make it'" Mizolo grinned at her and Nami nodded her head in understanding.

"I like you, Mizolo. Sorry bout the bump"

"It's al…" Mizolo paused again. Nami shook her head in amusement.

* * *

Luffy patted his now inflated belly as he burped loudly. "Ah, that was good. Oi, color-ossan, thanks for the meal. This is a fun party."

"Don't think anything about it." Alexander raised his glass and stood atop the table he was eating on a moment ago. "Everyone! Things have gotten a bit too quiet! Come on, party, have fun. It's not a party without some noise!" He loudly exclaimed and this earned him a thunderous set of cheers as he drank the sake in his glass.

"Hey, ossan, you really like to party, huh?" Luffy asked as he picked through his teeth.

"I like to live. Life's about living; you can do it however you want, but the way I see it, the best way for me to live is to have people I love by my side, having fun, eating, drinking, dancin' and singin'. If anybody tells me I'm wrong then I'll take pride in me being wrong! Straw hat, you see life as an adventure, right?!"

Luffy nods, "Yep."

"Well, I see it as a party! Would you ever let somebody tell you any different?!" Alexander howled the question.

"Never."

"Exactly! We're all here to live life the way we want! That's what pirates do and damn anyway who says we can't do that! Rihahahahaha!"

Luffy joined in the laughter as the night dissolved into a blur of food, drink and pure joy.

It was one of the best nights anyone of them had ever had.

* * *

A danger loomed near the loud and colorful party.

"What the heck's going on over there?" A stranger dressed in a dark suit asked the man besides him.

"It's a crew of pirates. They've been docked here for a few days now. They party, a lot! Guess they got some company now." The second actor, who is dressed similarly to the first, responds. "Just leave them be, don't wanna cause any trouble, not when we're about to strike some big deal." He continued.

"Yeah, come on." The first one ordered as they both marched away quietly.


	4. Chapter 3

It was a bleak and gloomy night; the sky had a dour aura to it. There were only a few stars visible, half obstructed by the dark clouds and the rest hidden away in the orange hue that came from the large bonfire which was the epicenter of the large soiree that was taking place on the shores of Requin.

The two suited men from earlier had circumvented the forest after witnessing the festivities; their destination: the hidden cave that was southwest from the very center of the island. This cave was next to a large moor which was flourished with an assortment of plant life, most notably orange lilies.

The two men – Axol and J-Bone – trudged their way towards the aforementioned cave. Axol was a large, burly man with dark red hair that were trimmed down neatly, he had a small goatee of the same color; he was wearing an inconspicuous dark suit but he had loosened the dark tie he was wearing. Next to him was J-Bone who wore a similar suit as his associate; he was a small man (about 4 feet), his stature made him seem like a child when compared to his colleague but the grim face he carried gave him an air of maliciousness; he wore a top hat – most likely to compensate for his short height – and he had a scrunched up face, as if he were constantly in deep thought. They huffed as they reached their destination.

"You can hear those idiots all the way from the beach." J-Bone remarked, either out of annoyance or just to make conversation. "They don't bother us, we don't bother them." Axol responded nonchalantly. J-Bone's only retort was a low grunt.

As they plodded their way into the dark crevice there was a gradual diminuendo from the outside, and with each passing step it grew dimmer and dimmer; until it was completely silent. Axol had pulled out a flashlight that he had kept in the inner pocket of his coat. The rest of the journey had been fairly quiet, neither of the two men even made an attempt to converse. The only sound that penetrated the silence was their footsteps that grazed on the solid and coarse ground. It was as if contact between these two was taboo.

Eventually the silence came to a sudden halt as they both heard shuffling sounds that originated a few meters from their front. They continued to walk, unfazed by the sound. After a few more seconds they reached the end of a cave and they saw in front of them a small white door. There was a streak of light emanating from the small crack under the door; they could make out shadows moving left and right. Axol put away the flashlight and approached the door; he knocked on it.

"What you do not have is what we do not desire. What is it we do not desire?" A riddle that passed through the thick door.

"Ah damn, I forgot the answer." Axol denounced himself as he ruffled his hair, trying desperately to remember.

"Let me try." J-Bone walked towards the door and knocked on it once more.

Once more, the riddle was repeated.

"We don't know what you want but what you're gonna get is my foot up your ass." J-Bone loudly exclaimed and they both heard a soft chuckle coming from the other side.

"Yeah, it's J-Bone, let 'em in."

The door cracked open and both the men quickly rushed in. "Damn riddles!" J-Bone berated the slender man with the large sunglasses who had been the one asking the riddle. "Damn knock is all we need." J-Bone continued.

"Heh, better safe than sorry." The slender man riposted. "Come on, the boss is waitin'" He gestured for the two men to follow him, and so did, J-Bone having forgotten what he considered a rude indignation.

The three men entered a large white room. There was nothing to distinguish it: no pictures, no paraphernalia, the only thing occupying the large room was a desk at the very middle of the room that had three plain chairs stacked neatly in front and a larger, much comfier chair on the opposite end, which was currently occupied by their boss, Willow. The desk was covered with several den den mushis and a few files.

"Hey, boss, the guys are here." The slender man informed as he sat on one of the chairs. Willow was a woman in her mid 30's. She wore a large overcoat that covered most of her body, only her feet and hands were visible; she had dark brown hair that sprawled all the way to her back, a bit of it lying neatly on her left shoulder. She had a fierce look that took attention away from her stunning features; she was, by all accounts, a very beautiful woman but the ferocity that rose from her features sometimes made it seem otherwise.

"Hiya, guys." She greeted giddily as the two men approached the desks and took their place. Despite her vicious look, she had a gentle character: her voice was high pitched – she almost sounded like a child – and she talked with such mirth that often at times people are left bemused when they first encounter her. Her voice and her look created a kind of oxymoron.

"Boss, how are things going?" Axol was the first to ask.

She sighs with exasperation.

"Not good, ever since Joker aka the Royal Shichibukai, Doflamingo got taken out, the underworld has been topsy turvy. Kaido's been on the move; he had a deal going on with Doflamingo and now that he's gone, Kaido's been on the up and up. It's really annoying." She finishes with a childish pout which makes the slender man chuckle.

"Damn, what do we do now?" J-Bone inquired and Willow shrieked in fright.

"A-a a talking hat?!" Willow stuttered which made greatly agitated J-Bone.

"It's me!" He stood up on his chair so that he could face Willow. "I bought this hat so you all would stop bumping into me!"

"Oh, sorry." She hung her head, looking like a child who had just been scolded by her parents. J-Bone sat down, his vexation diminished greatly.

"So, with everything as it is it's kinda hard to do what we do." The slender man began. "If we don't keep business running then we'll have to shut this place down, and it took us SO long…" The slender man dramatically said the last line. "… to find this place, I don't wanna leave it."

"Well, I think this'll cheer you up." Willow said with a glint in her eyes.

"I was contacted a while back by some guy – I don't know who – but he's offered us a large payment for a simple job." Willow informed them. This peaked their interests as they all leaned forward (J-Bone stood up and leaned forward).

"He hasn't given any details yet, he said he'll call-." Willow was cut off by the ringing of one of the den den mushis.

"Speak of the Devil…" Willow commented as she picked up the receiver.

"Um, hello?" Willow was tentative.

For a few seconds there was no response, only silence which made all the residents of that room feel very uncomfortable.

"I am not a very trusting man." The voice on the other end finally spoke. "My entire life I've been audience to betrayal, therefore see it as a great honor that I choose to trust you now; the trust originating from necessity being beside the point."

They all looked at one another. The voice continued.

"It has come to my attention that a certain pirate crew has landed on your island; my navigator had charted their possible route and concluded that they would dock on your island. So my question is: Is that Straw Hat crew, at the present time, on Requin?" The voiced paused, allowing them time to answer.

"Wait! Those guys, on the beach, could they be…?" Axol voiced his thoughts; this elicited a response from the party on the other side.

"You're uncertain, describe one of them." The voice ordered.

"Well, um" Axol was nervous, his hesitation being proof of that. "Well, I only saw one. It was a girl with red hair and I think I saw a tattoo on her arm, though I'm not sure what-." He was cut off.

"That's them."

"Wait." J-Bone chirped up. "There was another crew as well. They've been here for a few days. They call themselves the party pirates. I think they're all buddies or somethin' like that cause they've been having a damn party the whole night."

"Party pirates?" The voice said the name as if it were familiar with it.

"You guys sure?" Willow looked at both of them, her fierce look being a great asset for interrogation.

"We are!" Axol and J-Bone exclaimed in unison.

There was an ephemeral silence. "The Party Pirates are an unexpected hindrance; however they can be dealt with swiftly, provided you are as skillful as you claim to be…"

"Hey, don't mock us!" Willow's face was flushed. "We can take care of 'em, easy peezy!"

"What do you want us to do, take these guys out?" The slender man finally spoke up.

"No, the log pose only takes a day to set. At this point in time my crew and I are about 2 days away from reaching Requin. What I require is for you to make sure that the Straw Hats do not leave Requin, at all costs! You may do as you wish with the Party Pirates. In exchange I am willing to pay you 500,000,000 beli. No more, no less." The voice on the under end finished.

"Um, hold on." Willow said as she covered the receiver with her hand, blocking out their conversation.

"500,000,000! That's enough to set us up for, at least, a year! We'll be back in the game by then." Willow said excitedly.

"I don't know, boss. The Straw Hats aren't just a crew we can just take down." Axol, despite his brutish exterior, didn't seem like one who would quickly go into combat.

"We have reinforcements nearby, we can call 'em up. All we gotta do is keep 'em here for 2 days. We'll have the whole of tomorrow, so we can make sure they don't leave that other day!" Willow presented her case.

"I agree with the boss. We need the money and we have enough men to hold 'em off for, at least, a day." The slender man apathetically gave his opinion.

"Damn. Fine, I guess we'll have to do it!" J-Bone caved in and agreed to do it. Willow nodded her head in appreciation as she took her hand off the receiver.

"It's a deal."

"Excellent. However, it should be made abundantly clear that failure is something I will not stand for. I have set expectations; fail to meet those expectations and you will face not a simple tirade of anger and frustration, no, you'll find yourself facing an enemy who would rip your heart out and make you eat it! And that is if I'm feeling merciful! Do not disappoint me." The voice hung up.

"Well, he seems nice." Willow nervously chuckled as she looked at her men.

* * *

The party had died down. Both pirate crews had nestled themselves in the sandy shores and were sleeping peacefully. The warmth that radiated from their bodies provided a blanket for whoever was lying unconscious next to them. The villagers had eaten a large amount of food and had returned to their huts with a full stomach and a content smile.

The bonfire, however, was still lit though it decreased in size. Only a small flame remained, one that would only last a few more minutes, at most. Next to it was the only one who still lay awake: Alexander.

He had a bottle of rum in his hands; he nursed it every few minutes. His gaze drifted from the seas to his crew to his new found friends.

"Ah, Kain, I wonder what you're up to… When will I see ya again?" Alexander whispered out, fearing that even a slight increase in volume might cause one of his friends to awake from their well deserved rest.

"I hope you're doing okay. You and Rem." He took one last sip of his rum before drifting away himself.


	5. Chapter 4

One by one they all awoke; Sanji and the Joji brothers had been the first to stir from their slumber. Sanji scratched his head as he slowly began to rise. He was not wearing his jacket as he had been using it as a pillow. He grabbed his jacket and put it on.

He noticed that it was a shockingly foggy day, the sunlight only barely penetrating the thick mist. He hoped that this wouldn't prove to be an impediment to any of their activities.

The beach was littered with people, wood and leftover food which was now covered with an army of flies and was being ravenously devoured by a pack of foxes. Sanji furrows his brow in annoyance as even the thought of wasting food makes his blood boil. He scoffs at himself incredulously, scolding himself for falling asleep before packing and putting the leftovers away. He decided that at least the foxes were having a good meal, for a change he assumed.

Sanji looks to his right and sees the pair of chefs with whom he had cooked with the previous night. The Joji brothers were a pair of twins: they had long, flowing, raven colored hair; chubby faces yet their bodies were quite thin, almost as if they were ill; they wore a pair of yellow gloves that went up to their elbows and beyond that they had green jumpsuits on – nothing distinguishable between the two. It was bewildering enough that the two looked the same but they had to act the same as well.

"Hello!" they chimed together which startled Sanji, making him take a step back. The two brothers smiled widely at him, there was almost no distance between the two.

"Don't get so close, it's creepy." Sanji commented with slight agitation.

"Ah, I told you we shouldn't get so close." Said the elder of the two brothers, Gon.

"No, I recall you saying nothing of the sorts" The younger, Bo, retorted.

"You have selective hearing."

"No, I don't."

"Yes, you do."

The two continued to talk argue amongst themselves, the two had a proclivity to partake in brotherly banter, much to the dismay of the people around them. Sanji quickly made his way away from the two annoying brothers. He pulled out a pack of cigarettes and lit one; he stood next to the Sunny as he smoked in peace.

Eventually all of them had gotten up: stretching, yawning, and grumbling about the lack of night. The only one who had failed to wake up was Zoro, who continued to snore loudly, his swords tucked away under his right arm.

"Sanji, FOOOOOOOOOOOD!" Luffy bellowed out. Sanji clicked his tongue in vexation. "You'll get your damn food when I'm good and ready." Sanji yelled back as he continued to fry the leftover, raw shark meat they still had.

"Gon, Bo, FOOOOOOO-" Mizolo cut off mid-sentence. Gon and Bo were cooking a few feet away from Sanji, both sporting pink aprons. "Yeah, yeah, just give us a minute." Gon replied. "No, two minutes." Bo interjected.

"One minute!"

"Two minutes!"

"One minutes!" The twins butted heads though none seem to pay heed to the squabbling duo. Up until that point the only sounds to penetrate their ears were the gentle splashing of the waves and serene singing of the birds that made nest there, however that sound was replaced by a cacophony of loud yells and discordant bickering of the people who currently inhabited it.

"Luffy, I know we've made friends but we can't stay here for that long!" Luffy was reprimanded by Nami; the latter was currently dress in her signature bikini and blue jeans, her hair hanging loose; the former was shirtless – stating that it was a beach so nobody would care if he took it off – and his infamous Straw Hat hung loosely around his neck.

"Oh come on, Nami, a week wouldn't hurt us!" Luffy pouted as if he were a child.

Anger starts to bubble up inside Nami as she remembers that arguing with Luffy is no different than presenting a well thought out case to a stump.

"Luffy…" Nami whispers menacingly, making the rubber captain sweat profusely.

"Rihahahaha, she's right, Straw Hat. As much as we like this island, we, too, will be leaving soon. No point in you lot staying for longer than you have to." Alexander struts his way over to the two.

Hearing the news makes Luffy grow sad, an air of melancholy hanging around him. "But we only just met, and we had so much fun last night."

Alexander snickers at the last comment. "Yes we did, and so we're gonna have another party before we leave! Rihahahahaha!" Luffy beams at this, the melancholy that shrouded him completely gone. Luffy joins in on the laughter and echoing across the sandy shores is a pair of inharmonious chortling; though nobody seemed to mind it in the least. Nami shakes her head at the antics of the two friends in front of her as she struts away.

"Plus, I wanna catch more of those sharks as a payment for these fine folks here." Alexander gestures towards a couple that stood only a few feet away from them. The couple – who were in their late thirties to early 40's – were dressed in ragged clothing, exemplifying the decrepit state in which the entire village lived in; they were also quite thin, and had thinning gray hair at the very edge of their scalps. The couple turned towards the loud captain, a look of guilt apparent on their faces.

"You're really nice, color ossan. Shishishi. I'll help you out." Luffy suggests as he whips his arm around, a way of saying 'alright, let's go, I'm ready'.

Alexander steps to the side to let his compatriot through.

"Wait!" The woman yelled out.

"Carol, what are you doing?" The man besides her questioned with fear and worry visible in his eyes. The two captains stared at them with curiosity.

"I can't do this anymore! These people have done nothing wrong; they've helped us for goodness sake!" Carol loudly yelled back at her husband.

"Carol, if we tell them anything…"

"They won't know; if they leave now then it won't matter. We can just tell them that we couldn't convince them to stay." Carol riposted, more loudly than she had hoped for as a majority of the inhabitants of the beach had now turned towards her, some furrowing their brows in confusion, others giggling like a bunch of school girls and others with a dead pan look on their faces.

"Listen!" Carol turns back to the two captains. The said captains crouch down close to her so she may say whatever she has to in a calmer way.

"This island is a front. It's really a hideout for a criminal faction. Their hideout is in the middle of this island and they force us to stay out here and make sure nobody ever goes wandering around. We provide people with food and shelter so that they would have no reason to snoop around; and to kidnap unsuspecting travelers or to kill men with bounties." Carol takes a breath; she had quickly said everything as if it were a sin for her to do so. "They force us do this, they kidnapped our families and make sure that we never double cross 'em." Tears begin to well up in her eyes. "But I can't do this anymore, you people have been kind to us, you treat us like we're your friends and I can't do this to people who think of me as a friend. When you were all asleep they came to us and told us to keep you on the island for at least a day, we don't know why but we know it ain't for any good reason. You need to leave this island, now!" Carol finished.

Both captains looked grim, an aura of anger and ferocity radiating off of them. "They kidnapped your families?" Luffy was the first to speak.

"Where'd you say they were again?" Alexander posed the second question.

Carol was taken aback by their response. "Please, don't, we'll get into enough trouble as it is, please don't add to it; just leave!" Carol was now crying, her husband was circling his hand around her back, trying to comfort her in some way.

"Look, you all need to – " Carol's husband couldn't finish his statement as a hail of cannon fire descended upon them.

Everyone on the shore looked around and saw that surrounding them in nearly all directions were large, black battleships; they weren't the marines as they didn't carry the flag of the navy. The ships had black sails, other than that it looked like any other run of the mill battleship.

It seems that the ships had used the mist as a way to hide themselves. The people who were proficient in observation haki were in a false sense of security and had not paid much attention to their surroundings and it was only too late for them to realize that they were standing in the middle of a large bull's eye.

The fog had dissipated enough that they could make out their surroundings.

"What do we do?!" Yelled out Usopp and a few of Alexander's crew mates.

However their plea fell on deaf ears as the captains stared with wide eyes at the sight before them: Carol and her husband lay sprawled on the ground, their body bloody and devoid of any life. The cannon shot had landed only a few feet away from them; Luffy and Alexander being immensely powerful fighters were able to withstand the impact, Carol and her husband had not been so lucky.

Alexander held onto his battle ax in one hand and clutched tightly on his tomahawk with his other hand. Luffy buried his fingers into his palm, nails digging into his skin, drawing blood. The two captains slowly made their way to their opponents.

"Wait, captain!" "Luffy, hold up!" Dizo and Zoro stopped their respective captains.

"The ships are too close – I mean too far, no point in you going; you can't reach 'em." Dizo explained to them. "Yeah, we need to get out of here first!" Zoro chimed in.

"Fine, get to the ships." Alexander basically growled.

"Get on the Sunny, we're gonna beat those bastards to a pulp." Luffy said in a low, imperious way. The first mates nodded their heads but as they were about to move another hail of cannon fire rained downed upon them, forcing them to disperse.

"We can't reach the ships." Alexander basically screamed.

"Damn bastards." Luffy bellowed out.

"Oi, everyone, run to the forest, we'll regroup there!" Luffy commanded everyone, including the captain besides him. And so they all ran: the Straw Hats, the Party Pirates and the villagers. They all ran with inhibition, some yelling out expletives at their enemies, but they all ran nonetheless.

* * *

A little while earlier…

"Alright, fellas, we've given them the message so I think we're good for now. I've contacted all nearby ships, they'll be here in an hour; they'll produce some mist as cover so don't be alarmed by it. With them surrounding the island, I can't think of any way for these guys to get off." Willow giddily informed the people in front of her. In front of her stood a plethora of men and women, all who worked for this criminal faction. "I think we should send the man in, just to be safe." The slender man (minus his glasses) said in a shallow whisper.

"This is… an important task, don't want screw ups!" He continued in a forbidding manner.

"He'll keep a close eye, make sure everything goes without a hitch."

The people around the slender man gulped; there was something about this man that was eerily ominous; a shiver ran down their spines.

J-Bone and Axol had noted the change in his demeanor, from a somewhat dunderhead to a threatening force in just a short while. He hadn't been with them for long so they didn't know how to react to it.

"Ah, you're right, silly of me. Since you suggest it, guess you're it." Willow said with a childish smile which was enough to balance out the slender man's dark aura. He nods his head and leaves.

* * *

A short while later…

"This island is a front…" Carol's voice could be heard a few yards away from where the slender man stood.

"Oh my God, I can't believe she's betraying us!" He thinks to himself, his thoughts uttered with dramatic flair. He pulls out a baby den den mushi.

"Oi, plans a no go. One of these villagers just stabbed us in the back!" He whispered, a form of hurt could be hard in his voice. "Start firing, we have no other choice."

"Roger." Was the only response from the other line.

The slender man got up and ran to the middle of the island, to his base.


End file.
